January - 2018

News

Investment Aimed at Closing the Attainment Gap

A Scottish Government fund aimed at boosting the attainment levels of the most deprived pupils is set to pay out £7.5 million to schools across Edinburgh next year. More than 2,300 schools across Scotland are set to benefit from the funding – including 122 across Edinburgh. The significant investment gives money directly to headteachers, allowing them to spend the money on local initiatives that will close the poverty-related attainment gap. Commenting, SNP MSP for Edinburgh

Lothians Smiling as NHS Dentist Registrations Increase Again

Over 5 million now registered across Scotland – near double 2007 levels. SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald has welcomed the latest figures that have shown NHS dentist registrations on the rise once again – with 785,433 people now registered across NHS Lothians and over 5 million registered across the country. The national figure has nearly doubled since the SNP came to power in 2007 – after the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration oversaw a decline in registrations from just over 2.

SNP Government Seeks Views to Shape Loneliness Strategy

SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald is calling on constituents in Edinburgh Pentlands to contribute to the Scottish Government’s new consultation looking at the causes of social isolation and loneliness and how they can be addressed. The consultation will run until 30 April and will thereafter feed into a new national strategy, one of the first in the world, to tackle loneliness and isolation. A national strategy to combat loneliness was a key ask of the Jo Cox Commission, which welcom

3,834 Baby Boxes Delivered In Lothians In First Six Months Of Scheme

Latest figures from the Scottish Government have revealed that the transformative Baby Box policy has already benefitted 3,834 newborns across NHS Lothian since they were introduced last year – and over 22,000 across Scotland. The Baby Box is a key part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to making Scotland the very best place in the world to grow up – and contains important items for parents and babies alike, such as baby clothes, a digital ear thermometer, a bath towel,

MSP Encourages Flu Jab Take Up

SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald has urged all eligible adults in Edinburgh Pentlands to take up the offer of a free flu vaccination. Everyone aged 65 and over, pregnant women and people at most risk of serious illness are offered the flu vaccination on the NHS. Flu rates in Scotland doubled in December with the most recent figures from Health Protection Scotland showing around 46 Scots in every 100,000 were suffering from the virus, comparing to 22 in every 100,000 for the same week

40% rise in Use of City of Edinburgh Council's Gyms

The number of gym goers using City of Edinburgh council-owned fitness facilities has increased by 40% since 2007, new Freedom of Information data reveals. There has been an overall 36% increase in the numbers using public fitness facilities since the 2014 Commonwealth Games, according to membership figures provided by gym providers across 22 Scottish local authorities. Commenting, Gordon Macdonald, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands said: “It is fantastic that Edinburgh Leisure